Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within
by shotgunn
Summary: Year 6 at Hogwarts... The Second War begins, mysteries unravel, and Harry must face what lies ahead for him... Will a certain redhead be able to help? And just what is the mysterious ball of fire threatening the whole wizarding community? Will the Order b
1. It's Just Emotion

**Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within  
**

Chapter One – **It's Just Emotion**

**Disclaimer (to all chapters)–** Miss JK Rowling, her publishers and Warner Brothers own the rights to Harry Potter. I only came up with the plot idea. Don't sue me!

* * *

To all of you who think this story sounds familiar…I originally published chapters 1-11 in August 2004, but now its back, and this time I will complete it! I've slightly altered the original 11 chapters, along with my marvellous Beta and Editor in Chief – **CreativeQuill**. Check her work out, as it is what inspires me to write (apart from Harry Potter…) and is much superior to my work…

* * *

Unlike most ordinary people who, upon seeing an owl fly through their open bedroom window, would have jumped up and perhaps yelled from surprise, Harry Potter didn't jump. He didn't even flinch. But then again, Harry Potter wasn't exactly an 'ordinary' person.

Instead, Harry calmly sat up from where he had been lying on the lumpy mattress, and reached over to the owl, which had landed on a corner post of the footboard, and waited, watching him rather impatiently, her left foot stuck out at him.

"Thanks, Hedwig," said the boy as he untied the envelope that was attached to the snowy owl's leg. After taking the envelope, Harry gently stroked Hedwig, who in turn cooed before nipping at his fingers affectionately, then flying off to her cage on top of Harry's wardrobe. Harry watched her while she began drinking from the fresh beaker of water he had put there that morning.

Returning his attention to the envelope in his hand, he turned it over to look at the front, hoping to recognise a friend's handwriting. He couldn't help but smile as he saw the familiar, untidy scrawl of his best friend, Ron Weasley. 'To Harry Potter', Harry read to himself, wondering why Ron always used his full name on the front of his letters. 'Surely Pig knows who I am by now and where to find me. Where else would I be?' he thought bitterly, as most of his thoughts seemed to be these says. Pig was Ron's tiny owl, and wasn't much bigger than a Golden Snitch, and it was perhaps due to the hyperactive nature of his own owl that often encouraged Ron to use Hedwig's return journey to deliver his letters. After all, Ron's owl wasn't known for its intelligence…

Turning the envelope over again and tearing it open, Harry pulled out a single piece of dirty white parchment and began to read.

_Dear Harry _

How are you, mate? Sorry I haven't written sooner. It's been really hectic around here. I know this might sound a bit pathetic, but I hope you're coping OK with everything that happened at the end of last term. Sorry to bring it up but I need you to know that I'm always here if you ever need to talk.

_  
Anyway, I have some good news for you. I'm coming to see you! I can't tell you here how I'm getting there, but don't worry, I won't be crashing through your fireplace like we did last time. Although it would be worth it just to see the look on your uncles face! I hope you can meet me at the place where your cousin hangs out, at about 9 tonight. I have loads to tell you about what's been happening. And don't worry about not being allowed out on your own because of...well you know. It's all been sorted._

_  
Let me know if this is OK,_

_See you soon, _

Ron

"Ron's coming to see me? Here? Tonight?" Harry said out loud. About a hundred questions began racing around his mind. _How's he going to get here? What does he have to tell me? What could be so important that Ron felt he had to tell me in person? And what did he mean when he said it's been sorted for me to go out on my own?_

All summer Harry had been locked away in his Aunt and Uncles house upon the orders of his own headmaster. Professor Dumbledore did have a good reason for this of course, even though Harry still didn't fully understand why he couldn't stay with the Weasley's or at Grimmauld Place. Only last summer, Harry and his cousin Dudley were attacked, just down the road from this very house, by two Dementors sent by Harry's delightful fifth year Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, which in Harry's mind made this place just as dangerous as any other. And then there was always the ever-present threat from Voldemort and his death eater henchmen…

Walking over to the shabby desk with one leg shorter than the other three, which sat under the window of his tiny bedroom, Harry sat down, took some parchment, a quill and ink from the top drawer and wrote his reply to Ron.

_Dear Ron _

_I'll be there at 9pm._

Harry hesitated for a second. He was about to write 'you've worried me a bit', but thought better of it. He didn't want Ron to see what he'd been like ever since he got back 'home', worrying about a war that may or may not have started, but which he knew nothing about. Worrying about his adopted family while at the same time hating not being there with them. But most of all, simply missing the life he should be living all year round instead of just during the school year. Instead, he signed his reply off:

_See you tonight, _

Harry

He then rolled the parchment up and called Hedwig over, who gave a rather unappreciative squawk at being sent out again so soon after getting back, and sent her to the Burrow, where Ron lived with his parents, his younger sister Ginny and his two older twin brothers, Fred and George. Ron also had three more older brothers. Charlie was studying dragons in Egypt, and Bill was working for the wizarding bank, Gringotts. Percy, the third oldest of the Weasley siblings, had gone to work for the Ministry of Magic and had since abandoned his family. The year before, he had even warned Ron about being friends with Harry. Harry had discovered it was a subject best left untouched in his mind. It only really served to make him angry.

* * *

"_Harry_!" Looking at his watch he let out a long sigh. One o-clock. Aunt Petunia always shouted for Harry to help make lunch. She didn't have to say what she wanted; it had been the same routine day in and day out for the past five weeks now.

Absent-mindedly scratching his forehead where the rather noticable scar in the shape of a lighting bolt resided, Harry rose from his chair and made his way downstairs.

Harry's cousin, Dudley, sat at the kitchen table watching a cowboy film on the TV. The Dursley's seemed to have a TV in every room (every room but Harry's, that is) so that Dudley could watch it wherever he was in the house, which was pretty much all the time, without the inconvenience of missing scenes from his favorite programmes. Which seemed to be all of them, actually. There was even a small portable TV in the bathroom, although Harry was forbidden to touch it.

Aunt Petunia was at the kitchen sink washing salad makings. Of course, this salad was only for his Aunt and Uncle. Harry would be making Dudley's lunch – giving Dudley a salad to eat would be a very big mistake. Aunt Petunia had quickly come to realise this after trying to put Dudley on a diet. After she'd caught him surreptitiously eating Hedwig's owl treats, she and Harry's uncle had given in. Whatever Dudley thought was best for him, was best for him.

Harry entered the kitchen and, without saying a word and without being spoken to, fetched some potatoes from under the sink, and began to peel them. Slicing them into enough chips to feed the whole family, he shook his head disgustedly when he thought that they were all for Dudley. Harry would make his own lunch when everyone had left the kitchen after the meal. Putting several sausages and slices of fatty bacon into the frying pan, Harry glanced over at his cousin sitting at the table.

'Can he get much bigger before he explodes?' he wondered. But then he remembered how big his Aunt Marge had gotten when he had made her inflate to the size of a small car. He hadn't meant to do it of course, and he didn't even have his wand with him, but it was still funny to think about it sometimes. Trying to hide the smile on his face before anyone noticed, Harry turned around and continued to cook Dudley's meal.

When he had finished and Dudley was happily filling his face with food, rather too quickly Harry thought, he left the kitchen without anything being said, and went to sit at the far end of the garden under the welcoming shade of the Dursley's perfectly shaped apple tree.

Harry was used to being completely ignored by the Dursley's. Hardly a word had been said to him other than orders or random screams, since the altercation between Uncle Vernon and Mad Eye Moody and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix at Kings Cross Station five weeks ago. Not that Harry minded, He'd rather not be talked to at all than be constantly talked down to and insulted, and have his parent's and Sirius Black's memory insulted in front of him.

Sirius Black. It was only a matter of time before Harry's thoughts turned to his Godfather. He had been thinking of almost nothing but Sirius and the events at the Department of Mysteries at the end of the last term of his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since school had let out. He knew that he thought about it too much, and was dwelling upon it for more time than was good for him, but he couldn't help it. There was certainly no one to talk to about it, and without talking about it, he was forced to keep it held in.

_'Sirius is dead because of me. He's dead because I couldn't keep up with those stupid Occlumency lessons with Snape and let Voldemort trick me. He's dead because once again I had to act the hero; I had to lead my friends into trouble and had to be saved by the Order. And Sirius died trying to save me,'_ had been Harry's most common train of thought throughout the weeks since he'd last seen the others at Kings Cross.

Nobody blamed Harry for what happened. It was just another part of Voldemort's ongoing attempts to kill Harry Potter and take over the wizarding world with the help of his followers, the Death Eaters. But Harry didn't see things like that. He didn't think he could ever stop blaming himself for the death of the closest person Harry had had to family since the death of his parents fifteen years ago.

"I could have saved him. I know I could. I could have stopped Sirius from falling behind the veil. I could have gone after him and brought him back. But I didn't, and now he's gone! I almost lost my best friends too!" he muttered, plucking blades of grass absently from the lawn.

All of these thoughts, rushing madly through his head like a waterfall as they often had during the past five weeks, had made Harry go red in the face and he curled his hands into fists. Pounding the ground beneath him, Harry thought of how his friends could have been killed by the death eaters, too. Ron and his other best friend, Hermione Granger, had been with him, as were Neville, Luna and Ginny.

_'What if they had been killed?_' he thought, his eyes gleaming with tears waiting to be shed. Thinking what it would be like to live life without Sirius as well as his best friends was almost unbearable for Harry. It was then that he realised how much Ron, Hermione, and now Ginny, meant to him. The Weasley's and Hermione were his family, and as long as they were around him, he could get through anything.

Wiping away the tears that had now cascaded down his cheeks, Harry decided that what he needed was some exercise. Being holed up in the same place for all this time couldn't be good for him, and it always helped Harry to get rid of his pent up emotion. For a teenager who had been sixteen for only a week, he seemed to have a whole lot of pent-up emotion within him.

* * *

At quarter to nine that night, Harry silently closed his bedroom door behind him and made his way down the stairs, being careful to skip the creaky bottom step. He could just about hear the television over the roar of Dudley and Uncle Vernon laughing at whatever it was they were watching. Harry hadn't watched television since he was eleven, apart from when he had had to sneak a listen of the news last summer in the hope of hearing something of importance about Voldemort. This was something that he hadn't even bothered to attempt this summer, largely thanks to the Dursley's insistence of 'No television between six and eight PM', which had been met with a flying plate at Harry's head from Dudley's direction.

Grabbing the front door key that was hanging on the wall next to the door, Harry left number four and silently thanked his cousin and uncle for having such booming voices, drowning out any noises that he made. Harry walked quickly down the street in the fading light of the mid-summers evening, looking forward to seeing a friendly face and catching up on what had been happening in the wizarding world.

As Harry turned onto Magnolia Crescent, he passed a strangely familiar middle-aged woman with short and spiky dark purple hair. He couldn't understand why she looked so familiar though, and so carried on walking, mildly disturbed with a feeling that something was odd about her. When he reached the park where he would be meeting Ron to find it deserted, Harry walked over to the swings and sat on the only one that hadn't been rolled up around the supporting bar above him, no doubt the handiwork of Dudley's gang. It seemed being attacked by a Dementor hadn't changed Dudley in the slightest. Apart from meal times, and when one of his ever growing list of favourite shows was on TV, Dudley was hardly in the house any more – not that Harry complained. He was most likely off with his gang somewhere terrorizing unfortunate ten year olds.

After a couple of minutes of waiting, Harry's mind began to wander, and he found himself staring at an alleyway between two houses over the road. The same alleyway that Harry had first laid eyes on his Godfather nearly three years ago. Harry sat there in a daze for what must have been ten minutes, hardly blinking, staring at the alley and remembering the grim-like dog that had startled him so much that he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus. And then, the image of the dog began to change in Harry's mind, began to elongate, the dark black hair on the animals head turning red. At this Harry snapped out of his thoughts and forced himself to look away from the alleyway. He blinked several times, and then did a double take.

"Ron!"

"Hey, Harry!" Ron called as he made his way over the traffic-less road and hopped over the wrought iron fence into the park, before jogging over to the swings.

"How've you been mate?"

"Fine," said Harry evasively, avoiding his best friends eyes. "You? How is everyone?"

"Yeah... yeah were all doing OK," Ron said, parking himself on the ground nearby and pulling his long, gangly legs up to be circled by long, gangly arms. "Everyone's been kept busy, what with...you know... We're all really worried about you, though, mate".

Harry knew this was coming. He hadn't spoken about what happened at the Department of Mysteries with anyone but Dumbledore, Luna and Nearly Headless Nick. Ron was his best friend after all, and it was his job to worry about him, but Harry couldn't help what he felt – he just wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone else yet.

"Ron..." Harry began, "I know you're only trying to look out for me and everything but I'm just not ready to talk about it until... until I can accept what happened." He gave Ron an almost pleading look, silently asking him to drop the subject. Ron looked down at the grass he was sitting on, pulled out a strand and began studying it intently in the darkness.

"I know mate. I told Hermione that I was coming to see you and she made me promise I'd ask you... you know what she's like if she doesn't get her own... Just remember, if you ever need to talk, we're here, right?"

"Thanks, Ron," said Harry, moving to sit down next to him. He could always count on his best friend to not push him too hard when he didn't want to discuss something. Ron understood.

After a minute of silence, Harry said, "So what brings you to Little Whinging? Surely you didn't come just because Hermione wanted to know how I was? And what did you mean in your letter when you said it's okay for me to come out on my own? Nobody's told me it's _not_ okay for me to come outside."

"Ah... well..." spluttered Ron, whose ears had turned red, though it was much too dark for Harry to notice. "You see, since you've been back here with your Aunt and Uncle, people form the Order have been kind of... well, keeping a watch on you. Only not just people from the Order. Since You-Know-Who came out in public, Aurors have been keeping tabs on you too."

Harry supposed this was to be expected. Of course members of the Order of the Phoenix would be watching his house. He was the only person who could defeat Voldemort after all. But why would Aurors be watching him, as well?

'You know that's a stupid question', said a voice in the back of Harry's mind. He had found himself having arguments inside his head against this voice a lot recently, mostly when he was beating himself up about his godfather, and Cedric, and how his friends could have been killed that night at the Department of Mysteries.

"Okay, so I'm being babysat," Harry said derisively. "Great."

"It's not like that mate. Dumbledore's not gonna let you stay here and not be protected. Not after what happened with ... well, with the Dementors before."

"How come I haven't seen anyone then? The only person from our world that I've seen in five weeks is Miss. Figg. I haven't seen anybody watching me. Nobody that looked familiar or odd."

"Well, that's good isn't it? They're trying to leave you alone and let you have a normal life for a change."

"Normal life? Me?" spat Harry. What was normal about his life? What _could_ be normal about his life?

"Anyway, you won't have to be 'babysat' for much longer. Dumbledore says you can spend the rest of the summer at the Burrow with us. Someone will be coming to get you tomorrow, so have your things packed. They'll be coming about noon. That's what I needed to see you for, to tell you."

Harry sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what he had just heard. This was the best news that he had received in a very long time. He would be leaving his poor excuses for relatives tomorrow for nearly a whole year. He'd be able to see Hermione and Ginny and the other Weasleys again. There would be no more wondering about the wizarding world and what was happening. He was going back to his second home (after Hogwarts, of course). This news brought on an instant change in Harry's mood, and he suddenly stood up again. "This is great! I can't wait!"

"Yeah. Hermione will be coming at the weekend too. She's on holiday with her parents at the moment," Ron said, a smile coming across his face.

Harry had clicked on that Ron liked Hermione as more than a friend at the Yule Ball during fourth year, but had never pushed Ron into admitting it. It wasn't his business to go meddling in other people's relationships, and besides, Ron had never given Harry grief over his feelings for Cho. Harry thought with a small snort that they were both pretty hopeless with girls.

"What was that snigger for?" asked Ron.

"What? Oh...never mind" said Harry, flushing.

He walked over to the swing he had been sitting on earlier with a small smile playing on his face. As he sat down, he noticed a woman crossing the street and heading for the park. She then hopped over the fence in one fluid motion, much the same way as Ron had done.

'Odd' Harry thought. The woman looked a little old to be fence-hopping. And then he recognized the woman as the one he had passed on his way to meet Ron, the woman with the short spiky hair. Ron had failed to notice the woman and was again studying a blade of grass rather intently, apparently lost in thought. 'Ron lost in thought, odd again', mused Harry.

The woman was now walking directly at Harry and Ron, and it suddenly hit Harry as to how dangerous this situation could be. He stood up again and pulled his wand from his pocket, went back over to Ron and kicked him lightly in the shin to get his attention. The woman was less than fifty feet away now.

"What the bloody hell...?" Ron looked up at him angrily.

"There's someone coming, get your wand out!" Harry now had his wand pointed at the woman approaching, and Ron quickly followed suit. But as the woman got nearer, Ron said "Oh, it's her. Put your wand away, Harry. It's okay."

"Blimey Harry, drop your bloody wand before you take your eye out with it!" the woman shouted, in an oddly familiar voice.

"Tonks?" Harry said, dropping his wand to his side.

"Got it in one, Harry. Although when you passed me earlier I'm surprised you didn't recognized me then. Alright then, Ron?"

"Hi again, Tonks" said Ron, as Tonks joined the two boys next to the swings.

"Sorry to break this reunion up, but Ron, you've got to get back to Mrs Figg's house, the fireplace disconnects from the Floo network in ten minutes."

'So that's how Ron got here' Harry thought, although he supposed he always knew it. After all, Ron was too young to apparate, and was hardly going to hop on his broom and fly to Little Whinging all the way from Devon, was he?

Harry, Tonks and Ron walked out of the park and back towards Privet Drive, talking about the current situation with the War. It seemed that Voldemort hadn't been seen or heard of since retreating from the atrium at the Ministry. A couple of death eaters had been captured since then, thanks to the Order, but other than that things had been quiet.

"Just gaining in strength and numbers, Dumbledore suspects," Tonks said.

"Me and some others from the Order will be coming to get you tomorrow Harry, so just sit tight until we do."

"Okay, well I suppose I'll see you both tomorrow then," said Harry. Strangely, he felt he didn't want to let them go.

He received a quick hug from Tonks (who was still disguised as a middle aged woman, although from close up the spiky hair didn't do much towards making her disguise look authentic) and a smile from Ron, and they were gone. Harry walked towards number four for the last time that year, with the same smile playing on his face as before.

Perhaps this summer wouldn't be as bad as he had thought.

* * *

**End of Chapter One**

**A/N** – Please review! Thank you please.

SG -


	2. Journey to the Burrow

**Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within  
**

Chapter Two – **Journey to the Burrow**

* * *

_Running down a stone walled corridor… flaming torches everywhere. A solid black door approaching…running towards a solid black door. Stop for breath, but heat rising, must go on…fire everywhere, must go on…_

_Running again, faster than ever, closer and closer to the door, dancing orange light from the torches getting more and more intense…unbearable heat. The door flies open, banging hard against the stone wall of the corridor, so hard that stone falls to the floor, so hard that a draft extinguishes every torch. Running through pitch blackness… a red glow coming from the open door…running through darkness …closer and closer…and…through! Now a circular room, with doors on every available place on the wall… the room illuminated by four fiery red crosses on four of the doors… hit by a sudden coldness… familiar coldness… familiar surroundings…_

_A destination in mind…must press on… Running again, straight forward, straight to a marked doorway, through the door without it even opening, not stopping to think why… straight through to a room dancing with the glow of diamond shaped lights, full of ticking clocks, clocks of all shapes and sizes, all manors of different clocks, small and large, grandfather and wrist watches; and all telling the same time: 2.23am._

_Running past a Bell Jar…a bell jar full of obvious power…an egg inside… breaking open; a humming bird hatching…and growing…and shrinking…and retreating into the sealing egg again…and then breaking open again… Can't stop, still running…into a man's body. A head too small to be real… a babies head on a mans body, laughing. Rocking back and forth, laughing in the most evil, cackling way imaginable, laughing at the boy before him… "You can't win, boy". He turned around then, needing to get away from the nightmare before him, but still needing to be somewhere else, not far from here…_

_Back through the clock-filled room where the time was now 2.21am…back through the solid wood door that didn't open, back to the circular, door ridden room…walls spinning…spinning…fiery streaks all around… Now slowing… slower… slower… stopped. He was running again now…straight ahead through another marked door. A different room now…dimly lit and rectangular…stone benches running down a story into a stone pit…a stone dais standing in the middle…an archway on top….a black veil moving slowly in a non-existent breeze…_

_The ghost of Sirius Black floating, half hidden through the black veil… The ghost of Sirius Black, looking up at Harry Potter with unblinking, empty eyes, mouth open in pain induced shock…_

"_Look at what you've done to me, Harry. Look at what you've done…"_

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning in much the same way as he had nearly every morning for the past month and a half – drenched in sweat and shaking. Nearly every night since Sirius's death, Harry had had the same nightmare, and it never got easier to cope with. It never got easier, and Harry knew that he would never be able to forget the image of Sirius's face in that dream.

Rolling over onto his side with tears still fresh in his eyes, Harry wondered what Ron would make of him if he saw him like this. He would be spending the next few weeks in the same room as Ron. He had made his friends worry enough about him over the years, especially since the end of fourth year, and Harry didn't want them to know that he was suffering as much as he was. Harry had come to accept the nightmares as his punishment for leading his friends into danger and his godfather being murdered, but he didn't need the sympathy and attention that would come his way if other people knew.

Harry looked at his watch through the dim light of dawn. 5.37am. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, Harry got up and went into the bathroom to shower and shave. Not having a father, only the sorry excuse for an uncle that he had, Harry had learnt the year before how to shave the hard way – the muggle way, and by himself.

Twenty minutes later Harry emerged from the bathroom feeling refreshed and ready for his journey to the Burrow later that day. But first, as was the same as every other morning this summer, Harry had a run to complete. Quickly drinking a glass of water before setting off, Harry ran his favourite route, which brought him half way around the small town that was Little Whinging and back again, in a little over an hour. The freedom that this offered was about the only thing that Harry would miss about living with his Aunt and Uncle.

By the time Harry got back to the house, it was a little after 7, and his Aunt and Uncle were sitting at the kitchen table. Uncle Vernon was studying a muggle newspaper, making sure to keep it emphatically raised, so as to block any sight of his nephew, whilst Aunt Petunia was sipping a cup of tea through her usual pursed lips.

As Harry entered the kitchen he knew what he had to say; he had been trying to word it properly in his mind during the run. He cleared his throat rather loudly, and when his Aunt and Uncle looked up at him, he began.

"I know your going to be very sorry to hear this, but I'm going to be leaving today."

After a moments silence in which Harry wondered if they had heard him at all, his Uncle spoke.

"Sorry to hear?" he said in an almost amused voice.

"Umm... yeah, well, anyway", Harry began, trying not to smile at what he was about to say. "Some people from the Order, some of whom you met at Kings Cross, are coming to get me at about –"

"WHAT! IF YOU THINK I AM ABOUT TO LET THOSE...THOSE _FREAKS_ INTO MY HOME, THEN THINK AGAIN! THEY ARE NOT TO COME ANYWHERE NEAR ANY OF US! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Uncle Vernon had turned a rather impressive shade of beetroot purple after standing abruptly, overturning the chair he'd been sitting on, and was bellowing at Harry so loudly that Dudley had come running (if that was possible for a boy his size) down the stairs to see what Harry had done this time.

Aunt Petunia, after hurriedly rising and righting Vernon's chair, put a hand on her husbands shoulder, and he sat back down again, glaring at Harry.

"Is that clear boy?" he said rather more quietly, but nevertheless, still very obviously angry.

"Yeah sure, I just thought I'd let you know," and with that, Harry left the kitchen.

* * *

At a little after 11.30 that morning, Harry had finished packing his things into his Hogwarts trunk, and was lying on his bed, re-reading a letter that had been sent to him a couple of weeks ago.

_Dear Harry, _

I just thought I'd write to you more out of pure boredom than anything else. Yes that was a joke Harry, calm down!

_How has your summer been so far? A bit of a silly question I know, what with you being with those horrid relatives of yours. But still, you could be having fun... getting a head start on your school work for next year... Ha! Another joke there, don't mind me (they don't call me Hermione you know)._

_Any way – I've been having a great time here, playing quidditch and the like. It's also been fun teasing Ron about my 'relationship' with Dean. He still hasn't twigged on that I made it up just to annoy him. After all, it's his own fault for meddling in my business, and besides, how thick can he get? Although I suppose I should tell him before the end of summer. I don't want Ron to get a black eye from Dean the first night back at school! Oh, I'm on a roll, don't slow me down now!_

_Percy is still not speaking to the family and is avoiding us at all costs. I don't think Ron would have told you that – he won't talk about him at all. Not that I blame him. I'd just love to give Percy a record breaking bat-bogey hex._

_Have you heard from Neville or Luna? They have written to me a few times. I think they are both blind to their feelings for each other. And what about Ron and Hermione? They are blinder than Fudge was about... well I'll see if you know what I mean before I put it in words – IN LOVE! _

Anyway, I'm going to have to go. Fred and George are eyeing me suspiciously. I'm so scared...NOT! I'll have to go and create a little mayhem of my own -- those two need taking down a peg or two.

_See you (very) soon I hope, _

Love,

Ginny

P.S. Congratulations on your 11 OWLs!

Harry had read this letter at least a dozen times since receiving it. It had been the first letter he had had from anyone that didn't mention Sirius or the events at the Department of Mysteries. In fact, Ginny had never mentioned what had happened in any of her letters to Harry, and he was extremely grateful for this. For a time, while he was reading a letter from, or writing a letter to Ginny, Harry felt like any other young wizard in the world, who's only worries were girls, grades, careers, and in the case of Hogwarts students, Snape.

He had no idea when he had begun to look forward to hearing from Ron's kid sister, but now that Harry had found someone who treated him as a normal person, and not the 'boy-who-lived' or the only wizard capable of defeating Voldemort, he had come to realise that she was very important to him. Just the way that she spoke, always getting straight to the point and always saying what was on her mind, rather than bottling it up, was one of the things that Harry admired about Ginny, and it was with the ease at which he found himself replying to her letters that often got Harry thinking…

Harry sighed. Even if he wanted to be with Ginny (which he most certainly didn't, he told himself), it just wasn't possible. He couldn't risk having a girlfriend. Besides always seeming to make girls he liked cry, if Voldemort or his Death Eaters ever found out that he was romantically involved, they would most certainly go after the girl in question. It was bad enough that Ginny was a Weasley. She was in enough danger as it was.

At noon, Harry decided to go and wait to be collected on the stairs, much like he had a couple of years ago. And just like that last time, Tonks and the others were late. Harry's aunt and uncle had taken Dudley away to buy him new clothes and video games, so he sat there, waiting, alone.

"We're not staying here if those...those..." Aunt Petunia had paused here to find the right word to describe 'those', "..._backwards_ people are coming. Poor Duddikins would have a fit!"

And so Harry was left to wait on the stairs, all alone with nothing to do, other than count the number of diamonds in the leaded glass window next to the front door. Fifty-nine complete diamond shapes, with twenty-seven part-diamonds apparently...

Just as he thought that maybe the party of Order members had been blown up by a certain silver-handed, rat-faced traitor, Harry heard several pairs of feet walking up the gravel driveway of Number Four. As they reached the door, the group paused, and the unmistakable – if muffled – voice of Tonks could be heard, "Do we just go in, or do we have to knock?"

At that, Harry heard Mad-Eyed Moody say "Alohomora", and the front door opened slowly, to reveal two red-headed Weasley's and Kingsley Shacklebolt, along with Tonks and Moody.

"Alright there, Harry?" said Fred or George, as they both entered the house with the three adults behind.

"You're not telling me that you two are part of the Order now, are you?" Harry said, with a note of shocked amusement in his voice.

"Not telling you anything," Fred smiled.

"I thought you said he was smarter than average, Fred?" George asked.

"Rather thought he was, George," Fred countered, before they both turned and grinned at Harry.

"Contacts Harry, it's all about contacts. Being the owners of the fastest growing business in Diagon Alley means you get to meet many, many distinguished people."

"Dumbledore reckons we were a great addition to the Order."

"Been doing all sorts of important stuff, we have."

"Great addition...important stuff. Yeah, like staying out of the way!" Moody growled. Fred and George stepped back and Moody stepped forward to shake Harry's hand.

"Good to see you again Harry. Hanging in there?"

"Yeah thanks" Harry replied automatically.

"Harry," Kingsley nodded to him. All Harry could do was smile weakly in return.

"Sorry we're late, Harry. Tonks here 'accidentally' spilt the whole jar of floo powder we were going to use, so I had to go and fetch some more from Dumbledore's office." Moody said.

"Yes, well, we're here now, no harm done, right Fred, George?" Apparently Tonks had taken to amusing herself by joining forces with the Weasley twins, much to Moody's disdain. She was even sporting bright red hair to make the act even more impressive. This also made her look like the twin's older sister, and Harry couldn't help but think that the three of them together must be an unstoppable gag and prank reel, once started.

"So, is that how we're getting to the Burrow, by floo?" Harry asked. In reply, Kingsley pulled out an old newspaper from his cloak.

"No, we are going to use this Portkey. Only we can't do it in or near the house because of the wards, so we have to move to the alleyway on the next street so we aren't seen. And we have... seven minutes to get there, so we had best get moving," Kingsley said, looking at his watch.

Two minutes later, Fred & George had Harry's trunk between them, whilst Harry was carrying Hedwig inside her cage. Harry knew that they were heading to the alley where he had first seen Sirius three years ago. But he silently made a promise to himself that he wouldn't beat himself up every time he saw a reminder of his godfather.

The group made their way out of the house and down the street towards the alleyway, attracting many glances from the local muggles on the way: two men in sweeping black cloaks (one wearing a bowler hat), the red-headed twins struggling under the weight of a rather large trunk, another red-head in a deep purple cloak, and a boy in glasses carrying a snowy owl, who some of the locals knew to attend St. Brutus's.

_'No wonder people are staring'_ Harry thought, although he didn't quite care – he was happy to be leaving this place and heading to his _real_ family.

They reached the alleyway and Kingsley again pulled out the old newspaper.

"Five seconds to go," Moody said, and they all touched a piece of the paper.

"Three, two..." and before Moody could say 'one', Harry felt the familiar, unpleasant tug from behind his navel, and his whole body turned sharply to the left before he landed suddenly on his feet again.

Steadying himself, he opened his eyes to find himself on the vaguely familiar dirt-track that led up to the Burrow. But when Harry looked up, he felt his mouth open in shock and he instinctively reached for his wand.

For the Burrow was no longer there…

**End of Chapter Two**

* * *

**A/N** – any guesses to what happened to the Burrow? Please review and let me know what you think! Good or bad!

**Ohnoes** - thanks for the review, the plot gains speed quite a bit quite soon...

And thanks to **Been** and **Nutty AL** for their reviews!

- SG -


	3. Welcome Home

**Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within  
**

Chapter Three – **Welcome Home**

* * *

Harry couldn't understand it. Here he was, pointing his wand at the space where the Burrow should have been, while the others were already walking along the track. How could they not have noticed that the house wasn't there?

"Why have you got your wand out, Harry? What is it?" Tonks said. The group had stopped walking and were peering at Harry as if his head had turned into that of a Grindylow's. Only Moody had the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

"Did you forget to do something, Tonks...something that Potter might have needed for him to come here?

"Umm...nope, don't think so…," Tonks replied, with a comically bemused expression on her face.

"Where has the Burrow gone? I can't see it, why?" Harry spoke.

"Oh..." Tonks said simply, a look of dawning comprehension written in her facial features. She walked up to Harry and pulled out a small piece of parchment from her cloak. She handed this to Harry, who put his wand away and read.

_'The Weasley family home – "The Burrow" – is located on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon'_

And a split second after Harry had read the message written in green ink, the Burrow appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. It was as if the whole house and garden had apparated onto the field at the end of the dirt track.

"That better, Potter?" Moody asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, relief and understanding washing over him. "So this means that Tonks is the Weasley's secret keeper... and that the house is invisible to everyone unless Tonks tells them otherwise?" It all made sense to him now.

"Pretty much," beamed Tonks.

"Dumbledore's idea of course. He's done the same with Hermione, Neville and Luna's houses. Used up a great deal of the Orders resources. Since what happened the other month, Voldemort has become aware of the relationships you share with these people, and we think that it would be best if they are protected, just to be safe." Kingsley said. Harry wondered who the secret keepers would be for the other three houses. He supposed more members from the Order were the most likely bet.

By now Harry, Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and the Weasley twins had entered the garden of the Burrow. The kitchen door flew open, and, quite predictably, Mrs Weasley came rushing out, apron on and arms open. She hurried over to Harry and wrapped him up in the motherly embrace that only she could provide.

"You know, I always thought we were her son's, not Harry," George said to Fred, although they were both smiling.

After living with the Dursley's for 10 years before attending Hogwarts, Harry had never hugged or been hugged. But Molly was the closest person he had to a mother by far, and although he was sometimes embarrassed by the attention, deep down Harry was eternally grateful for Mrs. Weasley's insistence that he was a part of the family.

Mrs. Weasley broke away from Harry and held him at arms length by the shoulders.

"Welcome home, Harry" she said

Harry smiled back and said, quietly so that no one else could hear, "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, really. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Oh don't be silly" she said, hugging him again. "Ron and Ginny are in the den, why don't you go and see them? No no, don't worry about your trunk and Hedwig" she said as Harry made for Fred and George to reclaim his possessions, "These two can manage them!"

So Harry made his way into the house, through the kitchen and to the den, where he found Ron and Ginny sitting in deep concentration under the window, playing Wizard Chess. By the looks of things, the two youngest red- heads were fairly evenly matched at the game.

Harry closed the door behind him, which made Ginny jump, and Ron looked up at Harry.

"Alright mate? Get here in one piece, then?" he asked jokingly.

"Yeah. It's great to be back here" Harry said as Ginny stood up.

"And it's great to have you back where you belong" Ginny said. She walked up to the new arrival, kissed him in a friendly manor on the cheek and wrapped him in a tight hug. Harry bowed down a little so that his mouth was next to Ginny's ear, and whispered "I need to talk to you later, alone."

She released Harry, and the two shared a second of meaningful eye contact. Ron, who was world-renowned for his observation skills, particularly when it came to relationships, failed to notice this encounter, and challenged Harry to play the winner of the Ron/Ginny Wizard Chess match – "Harry, when I whip Ginny at chess do you fancy a game?" On the board, Ginny's Queen hissed at Ron and Ginny glared at him so intently that Ron had no option but to apologise sincerely, unless he wanted to live in fear of a certain bat bogey hex for the next month or so.

And Ginny went on to win the game...

* * *

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing chess in the den. Ginny continued her run by beating Harry, and then Ron again. In the end she was only beaten when Ron and Harry joined forces. With Fred. And George...

After dinner that night, Harry excused himself from the table and went out to sit on the porch. He had found out during previous summers at the Burrow that the porch was about the only place in the house where there was a chance that it could be quiet for a while.

"If you're going to be living with us Harry, you really need to get better at chess. I need some competition!" Ginny was stood at the open door, and began walking towards Harry. Harry looked up at her and smiled. He couldn't help but notice how her auburn red hair shone in the light coming from the kitchen door behind her as she sat down next to him.

"Want some company?" she asked.

"Sure" came his reply. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Harry lost deep in thought. So deep in fact that he failed to notice when Ginny rested her head on his shoulder. Or so Ginny thought.

'This is nice' Harry thought. He had noticed Ginny place her head on his shoulder, but he didn't mind and he didn't do anything to stop her. It just felt right to Harry. He couldn't understand what he was feeling at the moment. He was happy, obviously, because he was back at the Burrow. But there was something else. At that precise moment, Harry felt content to be alone with Ginny. She wasn't like Ron and Hermione. They were his best friends, but he knew that they would question him on how he was feeling and how he was holding up after yet another loss in his life. And Harry knew he wasn't ready to talk about it. Being with Ginny just made things simpler. He could talk about normal things and be a normal teenager with her, but with everyone else he was always 'the boy-who-lived'.

The silence that they shared wasn't uncomfortable, but rather a mutual unspoken agreement. Ginny knew that Harry needed his space. After all the things he had been through recently, Ginny didn't want Harry to go back into his shell and seal off all of his emotions, like he had done in the past. She had only just got to a place where they were good friends, and she didn't want to ruin that by probing into things that he evidently didn't want to talk about. So she allowed Harry to sit in peace. She would be there for him if he wanted to speak about anything, and if not, then so be it. She was just glad that he didn't seem to mind her company, even if they remained in silence. To Ginny, any time with Harry was time well spent. She had said last year that she was over her crush on him, but deep down Ginny knew that wasn't true. She had told herself constantly since second year that she had to deal with it and move on, but she couldn't do it. So she had put her feelings to the side and had concentrated on her school work and being happy without Harry. After last year though, they had grown to be good friends and that was all Ginny could ever hope for. Well, maybe not all...

"Ginny?" Harry said, after a good ten minutes of silence.

"Hmm?" she replied, taking her head from his shoulder and looking into his brilliant green eyes.

"I need to thank you."

"What do you need to thank me for, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Well...you see... after, you know, what happened, you have been the only person who I've been able to talk to without being asked how I'm coping with it all, or without being spoken to like I might break at any time. So thanks...you know. With you I can have a normal conversation and...and...be normal."

"Oh come on Harry, you don't need to thank me. I'm just doing what friends do, you know that."

"Yeah I suppose so. But thank you any way, I just need you to know that I really appreciate you being around."

Ginny reached over and hugged Harry, which lasted for quite a few minutes, both sitting in quiet content, neither one feeling uncomfortable. When they broke apart, Harry continued. "It's hard, you know, knowing that what I did could have hurt any one of you – all of you, and for what? He died, Ginny, he died because of me, and I'm going to have to live with that forever."

"Harry, what happens, happens. This is a war, and people are going to get caught up in it. You can't go blaming yourself for that. Sirius came to save you, and he died trying to protect the most important person in his life. You can't blame yourself for that Harry, because you would have done exactly the same thing. It's what you were doing in the first place, if you remember, trying to save Sirius. It's what any of us would have done, and it was the right thing to do. I hope one day you'll realise that. It wasn't your fault, Harry," Ginny said, almost whispered. It was about time this got through to Harry, she thought.

"It was, though. If I hadn't been so stupid…" He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"I actually wanted to dream about the Department of Mysteries to see what was behind that black door, did you know that? I was too selfish and nosey to see the bigger picture! If I had learnt occlumency and not let some petty dispute with Snape get in the way, then I could have stopped it, and Voldemort wouldn't have got into my head, and Sirius would still be here!"

"No Harry" Ginny said. She couldn't believe how much guilt he actually carried with him. She had known that he was blaming himself, but never knew just how deep this guilt went. "If anyone is to blame, then it's Tom Riddle. It was his plan. Or Bellatrix. How evil can she be, after what she did to Neville's parents, and then her own cousin?" Ginny paused and studied Harry. It looked like he had closed his emotional drawbridge yet again, and Ginny knew it was almost pointless in continuing, at least tonight any way. Ginny never was one for giving in easily, though.

"Harry, just remember that Sirius cared for you so much that he went to save you, he risked being found by the Ministry and everything. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened, and somewhere inside you, you know that."

And he did know that. What Ginny was telling him made sense. He wouldn't be able to stop the guilt that he felt every time he heard his godfather's name, but what Ginny had said made everything clear to Harry. It wasn't his fault, it was Voldemort's, and it was Bellatrix's. Harry made a promise to himself right then. They would both pay for what they had done, not just to Harry, but to his friends also. Harry would make them pay.

"See, that's what I was talking about" Harry said after a couple of minutes. "All I need to do is talk to you, and the world doesn't seem so bad." He went red in the face after saying that. It had come out a bit too forward for his liking.

"Anytime Harry" Ginny said, and for the third time that day she gave him a hug, all be it a briefer one than before, before saying good night and rising to leave.

"Ginny…"

"Harry?"

Harry paused, not quite knowing why he had called her.

"Erm…nothing… Night," he said, subconsciously turning away from Ginny.

Ginny paused at the door and watched Harry for a moment, before retreating back into the house, lost deep in thought.

Outside, Harry sighed into the still night air, musing over what Ginny had said. She was right, Harry knew that. But what he didn't know was at what point he had started to like her as more than a friend...

**End of Chapter 3**

* * *

**A/N** - Sorry if this chapter is a little slow, just setting the scene...it gets better...honest...


	4. Secret's Out

**Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within  
**

Chapter Four – **Secrets Out**

* * *

The next few days went by rather uneventfully at the Burrow. Harry helped Ron and Ginny with the little jobs that Mrs. Weasley set them around the house, even though Mrs. Weasley insisted that he take things easy and get some fresh air. But Harry thought that if he was to stay at the Burrow for the rest of the summer, then the least he could do was to help with the chores.

Other than the three teens, the house was empty for most daylight hours. Fred and George had their ever-growing business to attend to. They were so successful in fact, that they had enlisted the help of Lee Jordan full time, and were currently looking for a premise in Hogsmeade to set up their second shop.

Charlie, who after visiting the country with the rest of the Weasley's three years ago, had recently moved to Egypt to study the Egyptian Long Snout, a newly discovered and extremely rare breed of dragon.

Bill still had his desk job at Gringotts that he requested during the past year. Both he and Charlie were now working part time, and devoted much of their time in the Order, helping with preparations for the impending war.

Arthur was also very busy, juggling his work for the Ministry with his role as a senior member of the Order. After the news emerged that Voldemort had returned, Arthur's department had been merged with one of the main departments of the Ministry – Muggle Relations, and as such, Arthur's workload, and indeed status and level of responsibility, had also increased. Molly was never far from her husband's side, and with the amount of Order duties ever increasing, they found themselves away from the Burrow for much of the day. And of course, Percy hadn't stepped a foot inside the Burrow for over a year.

* * *

Friday dawned bright and crisp in Devon. Harry awoke around mid-morning, thanks to the foghorn like snore presently emanating from somewhere in the vicinity of Ron's left nostril. Harry didn't mind being woken up in this manor however, as it was almost a comforting sound to him, and reminded Harry of his time at Hogwarts. And besides, it was always a bonus to not be woken by either his Aunt or Uncle shouting orders or random insults his way, and as well as this, ever since arriving at the Burrow he hadn't had one single dream about his godfather's death.

Harry picked himself out of bed, grabbed some clean boxers and trousers and went to the bathroom on the fourth floor to shower. He didn't bother to try and be quiet around the sleeping form of Ron – he would sleep through an apocalypse. No surprise there though, Harry thought. He had to put up with the ghoul in the attic, which had woke Harry up on several occasions, as well as living with Fred and George for nearly 16 years.

When Harry had finished in the bathroom, he made his way downstairs to find a t-shirt to wear, the few shirts he owned being in the wash basket. He entered the kitchen to find Ginny sitting at the table alone, eating a bowl of porridge and reading the Daily Prophet. Or rather, lazily poking the cold porridge in her bowl, and gazing absently through the paper, as though it harboured a muggle television set.

"Morning Gin" Harry said, completely forgetting he was only half dressed. Ginny looked up at him and immediately blushed furiously. Her gaze remained on his bare chess for a split second before she quickly looked back at the paper before her.

"Morning" she replied, studying the paper rather too intently. Harry noticed her gaze and quickly remembered that he had no shirt on, and, blushing madly himself, went to the pantry to retrieve a fresh one, and also took the time to allow his face drain all excess blood to the rest of his body. When he returned, Ron had joined Ginny at the table.

"We thought we'd have a game of Quidditch today, what do you think?" Ron asked Harry. Ginny was still avoiding eye contact with Harry at all costs.

"Sounds good" Harry returned, taking a seat opposite Ron and Ginny.

"Great!" said Ron, as he stood up. "I'm just gonna take a quick shower, back in a bit" he said, and left the kitchen.

After a minutes silence, Harry said "So..."

"Yeah?" Ginny said.

"Take a good look at my chest did you?" Harry asked, without truly thinking of what he was saying… until he mulled it over in his mind, lost his nerve, and intently examined his finger nails.

"I've seen better…" came Ginny's wit-filled reply. Harry was not expecting this, and hastily returned to the imaginary speck of dirt on his thumb.

"Oh OK Harry, seen as though you can't take a joke...well it was...it was very nice." She said. Harry was also not expecting this, and he proceeded to choke on his own saliva.

"Thanks" he mumbled, and went to the stove to take some porridge from the large steaming pot that was there. When he returned to the table, he took the seat next to Ginny, who had finished 'reading' the paper and was now quietly singing a song that Harry didn't recognize, while she gazed out of the window. Harry stopped eating for a moment, admiring the softness of Ginny's voice as she sang. But then she had stopped singing, and was examining Harry examining herself, until after a few seconds, Harry realised he was staring, and returned to his porridge, although not before the pair's eye's briefly met again. Ginny continued to watch him for a second before speaking.

"Looking forward to tomorrow then?" she asked. It took Harry a moment to register what she meant, and he remembered that Hermione would be arriving the next day for the remainder of the summer.

"Yeah, I can't wait to catch up with Hermione" he said. It was true, he hadn't seen his second best friend since the end of last term, and back then he wasn't the best person to hold a conversation with. Or be in the company of, for that matter. But being at the Burrow with the people that cared about him so much, particularly Ron, Ginny and Mrs Weasley, had caused Harry's mood a remarkable change in Harry's personality.

"Me too" Ginny said. "It's about time I had another girl around here. I always have to fend off all these _boys_ alone, and with Hermione here it always makes it so much better. And easier" she finished with a mischievous grin.

"What's that about Hermione?" Ron called from the stairs.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shot Harry a knowing look. "She just sent an owl." she said, her grin turning into a full blown smile. "She can't make it tomorrow, something about meeting up with Viktor instead," Ginny continued, barley able to keep her voice from breaking at the strain of wanting to laugh. Harry quickly clicked on to what Ginny was playing at, and joined in.

"Yeah" he said. "She says she'll be here in a few weeks though, after she and Viktor get back from their romantic break alone with each other" Harry finished, incredibly managing to keep his voice straight.

The sound of Ron thundering down the stairs followed Harry's words, and Ron entered the kitchen, red in the face with a look of complete disgust and anger on his face. "She's going where? With WHO?" he yelled, marching over to Ginny. "Let's see this letter then" he said, holding his hand out. "Wait until she hears what I've got to say about this!"

"I'm sure you'll give her a mouth full" Ginny sniggered, and Harry finally felt his face crack into a huge grin at the rather inappropriate joke that Ron probably never noticed.

"Where's this letter then" Ron asked, now turning to Harry, who quickly shoved the remains of his breakfast into his mouth.

When Ron didn't take his eyes off of Harry, he was forced to respond.

"Well...umm (Harry glanced at Ginny, who was grinning freely behind Ron's back) ...you could have it...only a Gnome just umm...ran into the house, lifted the letter and the owl, and ran out again. We...you know... tried to stop it, but it was just too...fast. Yeah, fast." Harry finished, and one glance at Ron's confused face, where he could see the gears working overtime trying to figure out what Harry meant, and Harry couldn't take it any more. He burst out laughing, with Ginny quickly following suit. All Ron could do was glance between the two, trying to work out what was so funny. Harry pointed at him and tried to say something, but could only manage a feeble squeak, which only proved to make the situation seem ten times funnier to Harry, who was now finding it difficult to breathe.

"How loved up can you get?" Ginny managed to spit out in between laughing fits..

"Huh?" Was all Ron could think of to say, while still trying to comprehend what was going on.

Harry, who by now had stopped laughing, knew it was time to put Ron out of his misery. He knew how he'd feel if he found out Ginny had gone to stay with Michael Corner. Not that he would be bothered, he reminded himself a little too confidently...

"It was a joke Ron, Hermione is still coming tomorrow and she isn't seeing Viktor."

"She might be, we just haven't heard about it" Ginny said, obviously not wanting to stop winding up her brother.

"Right" Ron said, his face turning an even more impressive shade of red. "You two are the biggest gits I know. And that's coming from someone who knows Malfoy!" and with that, he stormed out of the kitchen and thumped his way back up the stairs. A few seconds later, the whole house trembled slightly as Ron slammed his bedroom door shut.

"That didn't go so well" Harry commented, even though Ginny was still smiling broadly.

"He'll come round soon enough… He should be used to it by now, any way. Fred and George have been teasing him about Hermione for years. It is pretty obvious you know"

"Yeah I have noticed" Harry said with a smile. "I think everyone has, apart from maybe the two that actually need to."

"Anyway, still up for Quidditch? We can leave Ron to sulk and go and have a mess about on the orchid. Unless you're scared of loosing to sweet little me..." Ginny said, fluttering her eyelids innocently.

"In your dreams, Weasley" Harry replied.

"Hey, how did you know...?"

"Know what?" Harry asked, although he was sure he knew what the answer would be; this was typical Ginny. Or it was when she was around Harry, at least.

"That you're in my dreams" she grinned, and ran upstairs to get ready for Quidditch. Harry followed her with his eyes as she ran from him, catching even himself off guard. '_Whoa Harry_' he thought. But he had given in telling himself that what he was feeling wasn't true – it looked like he was falling in love with Ginny.

-+-+-+-

"I am sorry about earlier you know Ron, it was only a joke" Harry said later that night. Ron had just entered his bedroom, and Harry was sat on his own bed, reading one of Ron's Chudley Cannons magazines. Ron had been avoiding Harry all day, and he had only seen him at dinner where he sat as far away as possible and left as soon as he was finished. He didn't even stay for seconds, which showed just how angry Ron must have been with Harry.

"I can expect that sort of crap from Ginny and the rest of them" Ron said, lying down on his bed.

"Well... I just got carried away with the moment; don't tell me you've never done that before."

"You mean you got carried away with Ginny's moment" Ron said, looking at Harry and trying to detect a reaction from him. Of course this made Harry blush, and he turned to read the magazine again. "Look Harry" Ron continued, "I know you have a thing for her."

"I do not!" Harry said, a little too loudly. The ghoul in the attic made a very loud 'clang' on a pipe overhead, which seemed to echo around the house as all the pipes joined in. "If it's anyone who likes anyone, then it's you liking Hermione!" Harry had wanted to say something like that for months and months, but now that he had, he almost regretted it. What if it pushed Ron's anger with him even further?

"Your right" Ron said simply.

Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard. When had Ron grown up so much? A few months ago, if Harry had suggested to him that he fancied their other best mate, he would have flat out denied it and probably punched him. So what had changed?

Ron seemed to sense what Harry was thinking, as he answered the question that was in Harry's head. "I just figured that it's about time I did something about it. I've liked her for so long that I think I'd burst if I didn't tell her. Even if she just wants to stay friends, at least I'd know and would be able to move on." He said with an air of maturity that Harry didn't think was possible.

"Go for it mate. When are you going to tell her?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow night I think. That's why I got so mad earlier. If she was with Krum...I don't know how I'd handle being around her. Anyway, do u like my sister or not?"

The question came out so suddenly that Harry wasn't expecting it. He looked at Ron, who was still looking purposefully at Harry. What should he do? Should he take a leaf out of Ron's newly written book and just tell him? What's the worst that could happen? But, Harry thought, what if Ron hated the idea of his best friend liking his little sister as more than a friend, let alone the two going out with each other. Then again, Harry hated keeping secrets from Ron. He was already keeping perhaps the biggest secret in the wizarding world from him, so maybe it was time to share this one secret about his feelings for Ginny.

"OK Ron, just don't loose it with me. Yes I do like your sister, there's nothing I can do about it, it's just the way I feel and you or nobody else can change that."

"Harry" Ron said, still looking at him hard, but his face relaxing into a small smile, "You know I don't like to see Ginny with any boy, and that's simply because I know what they're like and it would just end up going wrong and upsetting her." Harry's heart sank – he wasn't going to accept the idea of him wanting to go out with Ginny.

"But..." Ron continued, "You are an exception to that rule. I know you and I know you'd never hurt her. But if you are going to ask her out, please hurry up about it. I don't want her going out with Dean!"

For the second time that night, Harry couldn't believe the words coming from Ron's mouth. Not only had he admitted fancying Hermione, but he had also said it was OK for Harry to like his sister, and he even wanted him to ask her out!

"Thanks Ron" was all Harry could think to say. What more could he say?

"Us boys have got to stick together, right?" Ron said, getting up off the bed and making for the door.

"One final thing," Harry said before Ron left. "Ginny doesn't go out with Dean. Actually, she never did." Ron thought about this for a second, before grinning at Harry and closing the door behind him.

"Secrets out..." Harry said to himself in a bemused sort of way, staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

**A/N** – PLEASE review and let em know what you think, thank you...! 


	5. Hermione's Arrival

**Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within  
**

Chapter Five – **Hermione's Arrival**

-+-+-+-

_Running down a stone walled corridor…Flaming torches everywhere. A solid black door approaching…Running towards a solid black door. Stop for breath, but heat rising, must go on…fire everywhere, must go on…_

_Running again, faster than ever, closer and closer to the door, dancing orange light from the torches getting more and more intense…unbearable heat. The door fly's open, banging hard against the stone wall of the corridor, so hard that stone falls to the floor, so hard that a draft extinguishes every torch. Running through pitch blackness… a red glow coming from the open door…running through darkness …closer and closer…and…through! Now a circular room, with doors on every available place on the wall… the room illuminated by four fiery red crosses on four of the doors… hit by a sudden coldness… familiar coldness… familiar surroundings…_

_A destination in mind…must press on… Running again, straight forward, straight to a marked doorway, through the door without it even opening… running straight into…Ginny?_

'_What are you doing here Ginny?'_

'_I've come to see you, silly' she said with a big smile on her face._

'_No, you can't be here, there's Death Eaters here, you need to get out!'_

'_There are no Death Eaters here. They went away. It's just you and me Harry._

'_What about Sirius? He needs to see me. I need to save him. Let me go and save him!' Harry yelled with a note of desperation in his voice. But Ginny had grabbed his arms and Harry couldn't escape. Couldn't stop staring into her eyes._

'_He's gone, Harry, he went away. You don't have to worry about seeing him in your dreams again' Ginny said softly._

'_No he hasn't! Let go of me and I'll show you. He's just waiting for me to save him... he's waiting...' But Harry couldn't carry on. He started sobbing uncontrollably and Ginny pulled him into a tight embrace._

'_Sshhh, it's Ok. Everything's going to be OK' she whispered gently into his ear._

_Harry opened his eyes and pulled away from her. They were no longer at the Department of Mysteries, but in the Gryffindor common room at Hogwarts. The pair didn't seem to notice the change in their surroundings though._

'_Thanks' Harry said quietly, the tears now gone from his eyes._

'_What for?' Ginny asked, taking a step closer to Harry so that their faces were only inches apart._

'_For this' he said, and he leaned over to Ginny, pulled her to his body, and kissed her tenderly. _

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"Oww!" Harry yelled. "What was that for?" Ron had just thrown his pillow at Harry, waking him up from possibly the nicest, but weirdest dream he had ever had. Well, apart from the dream he had back in third year about himself, his owl Hedwig, Errol (The Weasley's family owl), Hermione's cat Crookshanks, Scabbers (Ron's ex 'pet rat'), and Neville's toad Trevor, having a tea party, along with Fluffy the three headed dog, and, of all people, Professor Snape.

"You were...moaning in your sleep!" Ron said, his ears going pink. "I know what I said last night about you and Ginny, but that's taking it too far! I don't wanna hear you moaning over my sister, OK?"

"Sorry" Harry said, turning pink himself. He had never had a dream about Ginny before, and he couldn't help but wonder why his feelings for her were developing so quickly.

"Yeah. Right. Anyway... Hermione will be here soon, I'm going to take a shower" Ron said. It seemed that Ron wasn't bothered that Harry saw him making an effort for Hermione's sake, after the conversation they had had last night.

Ron grabbed some clean clothes and left for the bathroom. Harry lay back down on his bed and closed his eyes. 'What am I going to do about this?' he asked himself silently. By 'this' he meant Ginny. And it was true; he didn't know what to do. He liked Ginny as more than a friend, this much he knew. And now Ron knew, which meant that Hermione was sure to find out soon. He would have to talk to her and make sure she didn't say anything about it to Ginny.

But what should he _do_ about Ginny? If he told her what he felt – if he asked her out, would she laugh in his face? After all, she had said last year that she was over him, so why should she change her mind? If only he had noticed her sooner, he wouldn't be in this position. But no, that aside, he knew that she wouldn't laugh in his face. She was too kind to do that. If anything, she would let him down gently, give him the 'I think we should just be friends' speech. And then their friendship would never be as close as it was at the moment. Sure, he knew they hadn't been close for very long, but he still felt as close to Ginny as he did Ron and Hermione.

There was also a slightly more selfish side of Harry that knew that Ron and Hermione would be going out soon, and so he would be left out regularly in favour of more intimate activity between his two best friends. It was obvious to Harry that Hermione would say yes if Ron asked her out, Ginny had told him that much. But if he went out with Ginny, then the two couples could hang out together still.

Then Harry went into a rather nightmarish daydream about if he asked Ginny out, if he managed to get through all of the stuttering and embarrassment and actually asked her. It would be going fine, they would be getting close...and he'd make her cry. He wouldn't know what he'd done, but she would be crying, because that's what happened with girls he liked. And then he would go to kiss her whilst she was still crying, and because he hardly had any experience at that sort of thing, he would bite her tongue off! And then Ron would hear her screaming in pain and would run in, see the tongue on the floor and proceed to knock the living daylights out of Harry.

Harry snapped out of it then, thinking it was ridiculous. True, he had a thing for making girls cry, but he wasn't so bad at kissing that he'd bite a girls tongue off... was he?

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The rest of Harry's morning was spent with Ron. Ginny had gone to the twins shop in Diagon Alley to help out for the morning, but would be back around lunch time. So Harry was left with Ron, which would have been fine with Harry, only Ron seemed to have lost the confidence he had had last night, and was now quite distracted from the game of exploding snap they were currently having at the kitchen table. Mrs Weasley was home for a change, and was busy preparing that evenings meal on the stove. She had decided that as the whole family would he home (including Hermione but minus Percy), the meal would be a very extravagant one for the special occasion.

"Come on Ron, this is getting boring" Harry said as he won his eighth game. Ron was too busy glancing at the fireplace to keep track of the cards on the table.

"What? Oh yeah, sorry" he said, again looking at the fireplace. "She should be here by now shouldn't she, what time is it?"

Harry glanced at his watch and was about to tell Ron that it was 12.20, when there was a large bang from outside the house. Harry jumped up instinctively, his hand reaching to his pocket, only to be stopped when he caught sight of a familiar purple object speed up at almost unlikely speeds and then vanish, leaving a slightly annoyed looking Hermione standing on the dirt track leading up the The Burrow with her trunk at her feet, and a cage in her hand. The Knight Bus often did that to its passengers, but it was often the most convenient and quick method of travelling, especially to under-age wizards and witches.

Mrs Weasley, who was stood at the kitchen sink when the noise occurred, was also looking out of the window. "Ron, Harry, go and help Hermione with her trunk, where's your manners?"

"I thought you said she was coming by Floo" Ron said to his mother.

"I never said such a thing Ronald" Mrs Weasley said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Now are you going to let the poor girl struggle with her trunk on her own? Hmm?"

Ron stood up and practically ran out of the door, leaving Harry in his wake.

"That was a waste of time cleaning the fireplace then, wasn't it!" Harry called after Ron, who seemed not to hear the joke.

As Harry went out to the garden, he saw Ron run up to Hermione. Ron reached her and the two hugged for a few seconds longer than necessary. They only broke apart when Tonks suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Harry jogged up to the little group and when Hermione saw him, she ran to Harry and the two friends also hugged.

"How've you been, Harry?" Hermione asked him.

"You know… better since being here, any way" he replied, hoping that she would end the questioning before it even really began.

"Alright there Harry?" Tonks interjected before Hermione could continue her line of questioning.

"Hi Tonks, I see you gave up with the Weasley hair-do" he joked.

"Yeah well I got fed up of people sayin' I looked like one of those ugly Weasley boys" Tonks said with a mischievous grin.

Ron was about to retaliate when Tonks handed Hermione a piece of parchment, said her goodbyes and left, saying that there was an Order meeting about to start at Headquarters. Harry instantly associated Headquarters with Sirius, but the thought of his godfather was pushed to the back of his mind when Mrs Weasley appeared at the kitchen door.

"RON" she bellowed, making herself heard from the short distance away that she was.

"I'VE GOT TO GO FOR A MEETING, KEEP AN EYE ON THE STOVE FOR ME"

"OK mum, no need to shout" he said, bending down to pick Hermione's trunk up.

"I SHOULDN'T BE LONG. NICE TO SEE YOU HERMIONE" she shouted, and then went back inside. A few seconds later a dull green light came from the window to signal the departure of Mrs Weasley.

"Need any help with that, Ron?" Harry asked, Ron obviously struggling with the weight of the trunk. He grunted a reply which Harry took as a yes, so he went over and took hold of one end of Hermione's trunk.

"I see you decided to bring the library with you this time, instead of just a couple hundred books" Harry said to Hermione, who gave him a sarcastic smile in return.

"You'll thank me one day, you always do… _'Let us see your transfiguration essay Hermione, can I copy your astronomy chart Hermione?_'" she said, mocking the two boys who relied rather too much on her talents and brains. "I don't know what you'd do without me" she said.

"Neither do we, do we Ron?" Harry said, pushing the trunk they were carrying in Ron's direction so he nearly stumbled.

"Wha? Umm, yeah... you're great. I mean, you're a great help, Hermione" he stuttered, and quickly looked away so that they didn't notice how red he had gone in the face, or the disgusted look he now held for not watching what he was saying.

"Like now for instance. You could have asked me to place a levitation charm on the trunk so you didn't have to carry it, but you chose not to" Hermione said, knowing too well that neither boy thought to use the charm, and seen as though they were at the kitchen door now, it was too late to use it anyway.

"And you seem to forget that we can't use magic outside of school" Harry said, not being able to hide a smile. It wasn't often that he got one over Hermione. And the look on her face was enough to tell him that it was a good job that he didn't do it often.

"How was your holiday, Hermione?" Ron asked, trying to forget his stuttering and make his way into the conversation. "Where did you go again?"

"Oh it was great...two whole weeks by the sea with my family. It's nice to spend time with them, you know, after not seeing them all year. They seemed happy too, happier than I've seen them for a while. They're always so worried about me, because I'm away all year and they know I don't tell them everything that happens. I imagine they would stop me going to Hogwarts if I mentioned there was an evil wizard out to take over the world, who just happened to have a specific interest in my best friends... and me now, I suppose. They don't even know I was hurt and unconscious last year." She paused here, seeing the look that Harry was giving her, which she interpreted as 'it's all my fault'.

"Harry, it is not your fault what happened, we do not blame you for what happened, it was us who made you let us go with you that night, we knew the consequences, we accepted them and we dealt with them. So please stop thinking that everything was your fault, because it certainly wasn't." she said, taking both Harry and Ron by surprise at the frankness of what she had just said.

"Where did that come from? I didn't even say anything" he said quietly, wondering how long she had been waiting to say that.

"I saw the look on your face, and besides, I had to say something about it."

"I'm hungry, shall we eat now?" Harry asked, wanting to forget what Hermione had said. He wasn't thinking that it was all his fault at the time Hermione had said it, he was merely grimacing at the rather large rumble his stomach had just made. He had skipped breakfast because he woke a little later than usual that morning.

"Sorry Harry, I just thought...oh never mind" Hermione said

"It's Ok; I know you're just looking out for me and everything. But really, I'm fine, stop worrying so much." Harry said sincerely. "Now, what can we eat?"

"I'm going to take my trunk upstairs first" Hermione said, quite obviously not wanting to leave it lying around.

"We'll do that for you" Ron said, picking up his end of the trunk again.

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Ginny arrived back from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes not long after Hermione had arrived. She told the trio that Fred and George had been called into Headquarters too, which indicated to Harry that something important had happened. However he quickly forgot about this, as the two girls cooked lunch and Hermione told them about her holiday and how a '20 year old boy' asked her on a date. "Well he was a little bit intoxicated, but he had no chance really" she commented.

"You still never told us where you went on holiday" Ron said. Harry stopped what he was saying to Ginny and looked at Hermione. He had noticed how she had avoided the question earlier, and he guessed where she must have gone. Why else would she hide it from Ron?

"Bulgaria" she said simply in reply.

"Right...OK...Great" Ron said. Hermione looked at him incredulously.

"Is that a problem Ron?" she asked, obviously annoyed at the fact that Ron wouldn't want her to go to Bulgaria because of a certain world-class Quidditch player.

"Ron, I just remembered your mum asked us to make our beds, come on" Harry told him. There was something Ron needed to know.

"My beds allr… err…yeah, yeah she did…" he stopped himself halfway through saying 'already made' when he noticed the important eye contact Harry was making with him.

Harry and Ron went up to the second floor landing, where Ron stopped and asked Harry what he wanted.

"I just thought I should help you out. As much as I love you and Hermione arguing, you need to know. Viktor doesn't even live in Bulgaria. Sure, he plays for their Quidditch team, but he lives in Russia, closer to Durmstrang. So don't argue over nothing, OK?"

"We weren't arguing!" Ron said a little loudly.

"No but you were about to. I've seen enough of it to know when it's coming." Harry said, and he shoved Ron lightly. "Come on", and they made their way back down the stairs, only to be met by Mr and Mrs Weasley, Tonks, Remus Lupin and Professor Dumbledore. All five adults wore very anxious and worried looks, but Harry failed to notice as he spotted Remus.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry said as he rushed over to his former teacher, and the closest thing to a father he had left. Lupin shook Harry's hand.

"Good, I'm good" he said wearily.

"Harry..." It was Dumbledore who spoke next.

"Professor...what's wrong?" Harry asked, a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"There's been an attack Harry," Dumbledore said with the familiar twinkle absent from his eyes.

"Where?" Harry asked, knowing it must concern him personally by the worry surrounding him.

"Little Whinging. Your aunt and uncles house."

**End of Chapter 5**

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**A/N** - **Please Review**!


	6. There's Something About Ginny

**Harry Potter and the Mysteries Within**

Chapter Six – **There's Something About Ginny**

**A/N -** I know, there's not been much action, but believe me, its coming soon, give it a chapter or two...

* * *

"Harry?" Hermione's worry-filled voice drifted up the stairs from the landing below. 

"I'll be down later, I'm not hungry," Harry called. When he heard the retreating footsteps of Hermione, he sighed and rolled over onto his side.

* * *

Several hours passed and the bedroom gradually grew darker. Harry had been here all afternoon, since Dumbledore had left. He couldn't face the looks of pity and worry that everyone seemed to be giving him. For the twenty minutes that Dumbledore had been at the Burrow earlier, Harry had found it increasingly difficult to look up from the piece of floor that he was staring at – he couldn't make eye contact with anyone because if he did, they would see just how much of an effect this news was having on Harry. The Dursley's had been attacked… and Harry had now added them to his list. He hadn't told anyone that he kept a list, and he was sure that he never would, but he had a list alright. His mum and dad, Neville's mum and dad, Cedric, Sirius, Mr Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna amongst countless others, had been hurt – or worse – because of Harry. 

Harry knew that the Dursley's were the worst kind of family anyone could ever wish on another person – but they were still family. They were ordinary (if that was how to describe them) muggle people who should have had nothing to do with the wizarding world. But Harry had dragged them into it, and now they had paid the same price that everyone else he associated himself with had. They had become a victim to Voldemort.

He was only just 16, but he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and at this point in time, coming towards the end of August, Harry felt that he couldn't go on living. Just how could he justify his own pathetic excuse for a life when all around him people he knew and (for the most part) loved, were falling, simply because they had a link with 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'?

He hadn't eaten since that morning and his stomach growled occasionally in protest. But he wouldn't be going downstairs whilst there were other people there. He would have to wait until the morning to eat. Harry picked up a book that was on his bedside table and started to thumb through the pages, hoping to distract himself from his own thoughts for a minute or two. But it was no good. Not even _Quidditch Through the Ages_ could distract him now.

His anger rising, he threw the book powerfully at the wall, where it collided with a loud thud and fell to the floor. Harry threw his head back down onto his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He remained like this for the rest of the evening, only closing his eyes when he heard Ron coming up the stairs and into the room. Harry was still fully clothed and not under the covers, so Ron must have known he was still awake. Ron got changed into his Pyjama bottoms and got into his bed without saying anything to Harry; he had learned through experience when not to talk to Harry and now was one of those moments. Harry silently thanked Ron for giving him the space he needed, and remembered that through all the negative things in this world, he still had his friends. Eventually he fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Harry awoke some time later, to be greeted by Ron's familiar loud snores. It was still dark outside, and the moon was just setting on the hills beyond Ottery St. Catchpole. He had somehow managed to sleep without dreaming, which considering his emotions at the moment, had to be some sort of achievement. He looked at the clock on the bedside table, and it glowed 2.23am. Harry turned over, wondering how his left arm had found its way out of his t-shirt. He closed his eyes again, hoping to get some more sleep, when his stomach gave a rather alarming growl and Harry realised he was still very hungry. Resigned to not getting more sleep until he satisfied his stomach, Harry rose from his bed and made his way down the four staircases, hoping that nobody would still be awake at this time of night. 

He reached the bottom of the stairs that opened up into the kitchen and walked over to the stove where, as he knew she would, Mrs Weasley had saved him some dinner from last night. Although it was only two-thirty in the morning, Harry was so hungry that he didn't mind eating the full roast dinner that she had worked so hard to prepare for the previous day. When the plate of food had been heated in the oven, Harry sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat. He was half way through his meal, and was just about to place a rather large portion of Yorkshire pudding into his mouth, when he thought he heard an almost inaudible sniff come from the den in the next room. He waited a few seconds, and when the sound didn't return he continued eating. He finished his midnight feast and washed up in the sink, and then made his way back to the stairs. Harry was just starting to climb when for the second time he heard it – although this time it was very much clearer, so clear in fact that Harry knew who the gentle sound belonged too.

Harry turned around and went into the den, where the only light came from the near-extinguished embers of the fire. Sitting on the overly-cushioned couch and staring out of the window at the silhouette of a distant oak tree, illuminated from behind by the setting moon, was Ginny. She was dressed in only her night dress, which suggested to Harry that she too had awoken in the night. That is, if she had gotten any sleep at all. In the faint light Harry could see the tears falling down her soft cheeks, falling onto her bare arms that hugged a cushion tightly.

"Ginny?" Harry said uncertainly.

Ginny shifted in her seat, let go of the cushion and wiped furiously at her eyes, hoping that Harry couldn't notice the tear stains. No use really though, Harry had seen her cry and seen her wipe away the tears. "How do you do it?" she asked, as if Harry would know what she was talking about without questioning her.

"How do I do what?" he asked softly, and sat down beside her. He drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, suddenly feeling cold.

"How do you cope with everything that you have to cope with, and still get on with everyday life? Harry, I can't even cope with what you have to go through, and it's not me living it, is it?"

"Ginny..." Harry started, with every intention of telling her that he didn't want to talk about it. He sighed, thinking what he should say. Part of him didn't want to talk about it, ever. But there was also another part of him that was telling Harry that he needed to talk, and there was no-one better than Ginny to talk to. "Ginny, does it look like I'm coping at the moment?" he said, wondering if that was what he wanted to say. It sounded a bit harsher than he wanted, Harry thought.

"No, not really" she began. "But you always pull through, don't you. With everything that you've been through, living with those prats, being told your mum and dad were murdered, having people injured and… and killed around you, you're still this great guy who cares probably way too much for the people around you. With everything you've been through, it's a wonder you're not more like Malfoy." She said the last part quickly, and once she had re-thought what she had just said, Ginny realised how un-sensitive it must have seemed. "I'm sorry Harry, ignore that last part. I just can't help feeling sorry for you. I know, you hate that, but it's hard for me not to. We all worry about you, especially at times like these." She stopped and wiped away the fresh tears that were now falling down her cheeks.

"Sometimes I don't know how I cope either," Harry said with a small, forced laugh. "It's like I have this huge weight on me, people keep dying because of _His_ plans for me. And there's nothing I can do to stop it. Not yet anyway..." he trailed off. "But Ginny, what you said to me the other day, about not blaming myself for everything – you made me realise that this isn't my fault. It's all Voldemort and his death eater minions fault. But it's still hard, you know. Sometimes I still think it is my fault, because if I wasn't here then nobody would be dead. My mum and dad would still be around. Sirius would still be alive. Your dad wouldn't have been attacked; you and everyone else wouldn't have been hurt…" Tears had started to form in Harry's eyes now, and Ginny still had trails of tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm not going to tell you this again Harry Potter," Ginny said with more force than before. "Yeah, the world would have been different, your right. Tom would probably be the ruler of the world, a hundred times more people would have been murdered, and I wouldn't know you… and I can't think of a world without you, Harry. It's because of you that Tom disappeared for thirteen years. We all know that you're the innocent party in all of this; we know that you didn't ask for it. Just remember that."

Harry didn't know what to say. Everything she said was true of course, but he had no idea how she alone had the power to make him see sense. If it had been Hermione talking, he would just get more frustrated at her insistence that he read a book to calm down, or talk to Dumbledore about it. Ron, well Ron wouldn't force him to talk about it, which was a good thing, but it still meant that he wouldn't be able to let go of some things. It was no good keeping everything locked up inside, he knew. But with Ginny, even if he didn't want to talk about things, he always ended doing just the opposite, and it always made him feel much better.

"You know, I forget sometimes that you've been through a lot yourself" Harry said.

"Yeah. Now that you've remembered, do you think that you might now understand that I know what it's like to have Tom in your head, and I know what you must feel like, putting your friends in danger, even though it wasn't your fault. I did the same thing too. I put you and the rest of the school in danger, but it wasn't my fault. Tom had put some sort of Imperius curse on the diary, and I was under his control for half of my first year."

"So we have been kinda in the same boat for quite a while then" Harry said.

"Guess so" said Ginny. "And you know, seen as though I'm so highly informed on the matter, if you need to talk Harry, I'm here for you. But be warned, I'm not afraid to put you in your place when you start acting like a giant prat and hiding away from us again. Were all here for you, and there's no getting away from us!"

"I kind of noticed that…no matter how much I want to be depressed, someone always comes and pulls me out of it…" Harry said, half jokingly.

They sat in silence for a minute, both staring out of the window, though Harry glanced at Ginny a couple of times. Now that his anger and self-pity had been pushed from his mind, Harry couldn't help but notice that even though she had been crying, and her hair was a little frizzy from tossing and turning in bed, Ginny still looked very attractive, bathed in an almost complimentary orange-red glow from the fire. He also couldn't help but notice that her nightdress had ridden up her legs a little, revealing her slim, slightly toned legs. He looked at her neck and saw the golden necklace that he had gotten Ginny for her 15th birthday last week. The memory of her reaction to the present made him smile fondly.

_The whole of the Weasley family (without Percy obviously) had gotten together for a special dinner for her birthday. Luna Lovegood and Neville had also been invited, them being amongst Ginny's best school friends. Hermione had still been on holiday at the time. After the meal, the presents had been given to Ginny, and after Luna had given hers (a years subscription to The Quibbler) Harry had presented Ginny with the gold necklace. There was nothing extravagant about it, Harry thought, it was just a plain gold chain with a small Egyptian style, cat-shaped gold pendant. But Harry had noticed Ginny's eyes water slightly as she accepted the gift, and she had become quieter for the remainder of the night. Harry didn't know why, the chain didn't seem too bad to him; in fact he thought it looked rather nice. And it did suit her. Maybe it was because she didn't like cats, he thought. But then again, Ron had told him that she loved cats, and that is why he had chosen the cat design from the muggle jewellery catalogue had had ordered it from. _

_The next day however, Ginny had been back to her normal self, and if anything their friendship had moved up yet another notch. Harry had yet to see Ginny without the necklace on. She had thanked him again that night for the necklace. She said it was the best present she had ever received from a friend. But the most remarkable thing about that night, the 12th August, wasn't that Ginny had thanked him again for the present. It wasn't even the fact that they were sat outside alone on the porch again, for this had happened several times during Harry's stay at the Burrow. No, the most remarkable thing about that night was that Ginny had kissed Harry. Not a full on snog Harry had thought later while over-analysing the situation, as he often did, his smile increasing in strength – he hated that word, snog... But still a kiss and still on the lips – not the cheek. 'Maybe that's why our friendships got so much better' Harry thought. And he had suddenly had the urge to run upstairs to his room, get his Firebolt, fly to Hogwarts, take Professor Dumbledore's Pensive, put that one particular memory into it and re-live it. Over and over again. Or even better… just repeat the kiss sometime soon…_

And now that they were alone, sat in front of the fireplace at such an un-sociable time, Harry could think of no better time… 

"Harry?" Ginny said. She was no longer looking out of the window, but straight at Harry. How she had managed to get so close to Harry without him noticing was anyone's guess.

"Yeah?"

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Believe me, you don't want to know," he replied.

But Ginny did want to know. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to know more of at this moment. For she had moved closer to Harry a minute ago, while he was obviously lost in thought. And when she had done so, she had noticed the smile that had come across his face. She couldn't help wondering that perhaps, against everything that she had been telling herself for years ('_Harry just wants to be your friend. Accept it!_'), that maybe Harry liked her as more than a friend.

**End of Chapter 6**

* * *

**A/N** – Right, to answer a question I'm sure your asking yourself. I know, I didn't tell you what happened to the Dursley's. And that's because I'm evil… mwharrr. Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough… 

**Coming soon**…Diagon Alley

Review! Review! Review!


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